Rhee Changyong's Four Years: Bank of Korea Staff Rate Policy as "Excellent," Internal Management as "So-So"

Over 50% of Bank of Korea Employees Rate Policy Performance as "Excellent" in Survey
Internal Evaluations, Such as Employee Treatment, Remain Relatively Weak

About half of the Bank of Korea employees positively evaluated the central bank's efforts to stabilize prices and financial markets during Governor Rhee Changyong's term. Many also responded that the Bank of Korea's status has risen both domestically and internationally. However, there were relatively more negative evaluations regarding internal management, such as salaries, welfare, and personnel matters.

Bank of Korea Building Photo

The Bank of Korea labor union announced on December 22 that it conducted a survey of 1,170 union members from November 24 to December 5, which yielded these results. Governor Rhee, who began his term in April 2022, will see his tenure end in April next year.

According to the survey results, 51% of respondents (13% rated as "very good," 48% as "good") gave a positive evaluation of the overall "policy" performance during the governor's term. Only 5% gave negative responses (4% said "needs improvement," 1% said "needs significant improvement").

Specifically, in response to the question "Was price stabilization policy effectively implemented during the term?" 51% of all respondents (10% said "very much so," 41% said "yes") answered positively. On the other hand, only 13% gave negative or neutral responses ("no," "not at all," or "don't know").

There were also more positive assessments regarding the timeliness of financial market stabilization policies. Forty-nine percent of respondents (10% "very much so," 39% "yes") viewed them positively.

Bank of Korea employees mostly agreed that the bank's domestic and international status improved during Governor Rhee's term. Sixty-two percent of respondents said its international standing had risen, while 64% believed its domestic status had improved.

Additionally, many respondents said the governor worked to restore the central bank's policy authority (46%) and responded appropriately to stablecoins (42%). For these questions, negative or neutral responses were only 17% and 19%, respectively.

In contrast, internal management received relatively lower evaluations. Only 37% of respondents (8% "very good," 29% "good") gave positive assessments of overall "internal management" performance, while "average" accounted for the largest share at 44%.

Only 29% said salaries had improved since the governor took office, while 35% said there had been no improvement. Just 31% said employee welfare had improved. When asked whether personnel decisions such as promotions were fairer than in the past, or whether executive appointments strengthened organizational competitiveness, 58% answered "average" for each question.

Kang Youngdae, head of the Bank of Korea labor union, commented on the survey results, saying, "Governor Rhee has shed the conservative and closed image the Bank of Korea has long held through active external engagement and unprecedented communication with the government. Employees, who have long been stifled by a rigid organizational culture, generally view the governor's efforts for change positively." However, he added, "This is the result of not making structural improvements to the treatment of employees who work as the governor's hands and feet." He continued, "With the government's control over the Bank of Korea's salary budget accumulating, employee wages have lagged 11% behind the average increase at commercial banks over the past five years. The Bank of Korea Act should be revised to allow labor unions to engage in collective bargaining as independent parties."

Kang also emphasized, "Now is the time to fight for policy tools for the Bank of Korea's macroprudential policies and for the authority to inspect financial institutions." He added, "The governor must put his position on the line and fight for governance reform in financial supervision to ensure financial stability."